AfriGeneas Free Persons of Color Forum

JP, Sr., his sister Estelle (or Stella), his son James P., Jr (an attorney), JP Jr.'s wife Laura, and their four children, William, Robert, Adelaide (Addie) and Alice Augusta were living in Seattle. JP, Sr had a photography studio there called "The Globe."

JP, Sr. was suffering from rheumatism and the family moved to Honolulu in 1902 for his health. The family is listed in the 1903 and 1904 city directories. James, Jr. was practicing law in downtown Honolulu and Laura is listed as a photographer; it appears that the photography studio was in their home. They lived at two different addresses near downtown Honolulu, one on Fort Street and one on Nuuanu Avenue. William worked as a clerk in his father's law office and Robert worked as a clerk with the United States Post Office (at this point in time, it was about 10 years after the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy and Hawaii was a territory of the United States; Queen Liliuokalani, the deposed Queen was still alive and living at her home, Washington Place, which was not very far from where the Balls were living).

Information on where they lived, occupations and where they worked was obtained from the city directory.

Adelaide and Alice were still in school and attened Central School, which still stands today and is still part of the public school system.

JP, Sr. is not listed in the city directory, so it is an educated guess that he was too ill to participate in the business.

JP, Sr. died on May 3 or May 4, 1904; the newspaper obit says May 3 (and was in the May 4 edition of the newspaper); his death certificate says he died on May 4.

We know he was living with the family because his residence address on the death certificate is the same address on Nuuanu Avenue that's listed for the family in the city directory; this same address is listed as the residence of his son in the obit.

BALL - At Honolulu, May 3, 1904, James P. Ball, Sr. aged 79 years. Private funeral services conducted by W. M. Kincaid, will be held at the residence of J. P. Ball, son of the deceased. 1491 Nuuanu Ave., after which the remains will be cremated and later sent to Cincinnati, Ohio, for internment.****

I found this searching the microfilm copies of the old newspapers in the public library in Honolulu. Fortuantely, I had a copy of his death certificate, so I knew the date that I was looking for and searched the issues for hte days around that date, and the newspaper back at that time wasnt very big - only about 10 pages each day. So finding the obit wasn't too difficult.

I have also heard that he was buried in Seattle, but don't have any documentation on that. I know that Alice was buried in Seattle (this infomration is on her death certificate, which I have a copy of).

After he died, the family went back to Seattle in 1904, except for son Robert. Robert was listed in the 1905, still working as a clerk at the post office.

From 1906 to 1914, there is no referance to any Balls from this family in the city directory.

Alice returned to Honolulu in 1915 and completed a master's degree in chemistry at the Hawaii College, which would later become the University of Hawaii. She had a bachelor's degree in pharmacology, which she earned in Seattle. She may have been the first woman in Washington to earn a degree in science, but I am not sure about that. I do know that she was the first woman to earn a master's degree in science in Hawaii. She then taught science in 1916 at the college.

While doing research for her master's thesis, she discovered and isolated a chemical propterty in the oil of the Chaulmoogra tree (a tree from India) that which was used in the treatment of leprosy. That tree from which she extracted the oil to use in her experiments and research is still growing on the campus of the University of Hawaii.

According to the city directory listings, she lived at the YWCA residence for women; it was called "The Homestead" and was located on Alapai Street. The Police Department is now located where "The Homestead" was when Alice lived there. "The Homestead" later became known as "Fernhurst." In the early 1950s, Fernhurst moved to Wilder Avenue in Makiki, where it still stands today.

In 1916, Alice lived at "The MacDonald," a hotel for women (really a boarding house), owned and run by Margret MacDonald. The MacDonald was located on Punahou Street not far from where Fernhurst is located today; Maryknoll High School now stands on the property where The MacDonald once was.

In October, 1916, Alice became ill and returned home to Seattle, where she died on December 31, 1916. She is buried in Seattle.